Refuse truck



Jan. 26, 1960 v BALB; v 2,922,535

REFUSE TRUCK Filed June 25, 1958 BY yg b A T TOR/VFY tiring.

Unite REFUSE TRUCK valentino L. Bannay, cant.

Application June 23, 1958, Serial No. 743,584

4 claims. (cl. z14s2 This invention relates to improvements in refuse trucks Vof the kind equipped with a reciprocating compressor transfer the garbage from the containers to the interior of the truck body. This kind of work is ditlicult and With a view of reducing the time and effort in carrying out a loading operation, I have -provided a garbage truck with a cut-away rear end and a reciprocating plunger `which may be conveniently reduced in height to permit the manual deposit of garbage into the truck without liftnig the garbage containers to the full height of the truck body. Thereafter the reciprocating plunger may be easily increased in height to bringits upper edge into substantial alignment with the upper edges of the sides of the truck body, thereby increasing its area so as to perform the garbage compressing operation more eh'iciently.

An object of my invention is to provide a refuse truck body having a reciprocating plunger mounted for forward and rearward movement, the plunger having an upper adjustable extension which may be lowered to facilitate the loading operation, such adjustable extension being capable of being raised when the loading operation is completed to increase the area of the plunger.

Other and further objects of my invention will be pointed out hereinafter, or will be indicated in the appended claims, or will be obvious to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of the present disclosure. For the purpose of this application, I have elected to show herein certain forms and details of a refuse truck representative of my invention; it is to be understood, however, that the embodiment of my invention herein shown and described is for purposes of illustration only and that therefore it is not to be regarded as exhaustive of the variations of the invention in the art.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a refuse truck embodying Ymy invention showingparts broken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of a part of the truck;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken transversely through the truck body, showing the rear side of the plunger;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View on an enlarged scale of the truck body; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of the reciprocating plunger and the hydraulic cylinder carried thereon.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a truck chassis mounted on wheels 2, equipped with rubber tires. The truck is propelled in the usual manner by an engine mounted on the chassis in a position forwardly of the drivers cab 3.

atent O be discharged when the body is tilted or when means other than the force of gravity is employed to move the contents through `the rearY outlet opening. Releasable latch means 9 normally holds the rear end 8 in a closed position so the contents of the truck body are held therein. The truck is provided in the usual manner with flights of steps vv10 and 11 positioned rearwardly o-f the drivers cab, which facilitate the transfer or deposit of collected garbage from manually carried containers into the trucklbody Mounted for longitudinal rearward and forward reciprocating movement inside the front end portion of the truck body4 is a vertically positioned refuse compressor plunger or pusher element 12 which, in its normally inactive position, is disposed alongside and rearwardly of Vthe front side 6 of the truck body. The plunger is adjustable as to height, as will be later described, and in this respect when it is shortened, its upper edge will be positioned at or near the level of the central part of the upper edge of the front side 6 of the truck body and when vertically lengthened, its upper edge will extend to about the level of the upper `edges of the lateral sides 7, 7 of the truck body. The plunger is re-enforced by a plurality of rearwardly extending vertical ribs or angle irons 12a which are laterally spaced one from another to provide intervening spaces. The plunger is positioned at substantially right angles to the longitudinal axis of the truck body. The normal, inactive position of the plunger is such that the refuse deposited in the truck body 4 by l workmenusing the steps 10 yand 11 will fall rearwardly of the said plunger onto the truck bed 5.

Secured as by bolts to the bed 5 of the truck body is a substantially rectangular enclosing snucture 13 which is .adapted to overlie the bed and a horizontally positioned hydraulic cylinder 14 which is mounted longitudinally in a centralposition on and above the forward portion of the bed. Attixed to the lateral sides of the enclosing structure 13 are two opposed longitudinally grooved parallel guides 15 of substantially U-shape in cross-section which slidably support the ends of a transverse supporting element 16 having adepending extension 16a. Secured to the depending extension 16a is a rigid transverse sup- Yportingmember 17 which is securely atlixed to the plunger Yspect to lthe venclosing structure 13 to permit the reciprocating movement of the plunger. The supporting `structure 13 is longitudinally slotted along its lower edges or otherwise spaced from the bed 5 to permit the rearward and forward reciprocating movement of the transverse supporting member 17.

Fitting in the hydraulic cylinder 14 is a reciprocating piston 18 which is provided with a piston rod 19 that is centrally secured to the transverse supporting element 16. Fluid under suitable pressure from a source of supply carried on the truck may be alternately admitted to the front and rear ends of the cylinder 14 through conduits 20 and 21. The conduits lead to a suitable hand operated valve (not shown) which makes it possible to control selectively the rearward and forward reciprocating movement of the piston` 18 and the plunger 12 to which the latter is connected.

The plunger 12 is provided with a telescopically arranged plunger extension 22, which is mounted for up and down adjustment. The extension 22 is preferably, although not necessarily, in the form of a semi-shell like structure which slidahly lits over the upper portion of the plunger, and when such extension is in its lowered position, its upper end rests upon the upper edge of the refuse compressor plunger mounted in the body between upper end of the plunger extension, and such tubes tele- Y scopically t over two (2) vertical guide rods 24, 24 secured to the end portions ofthe transverse supporting member 17.

Mounted centrally in a vertical position on the plunger 12 is a hydraulic cylinder 25 having a vertically reciprocating piston 26 therein which is secured to the lower end of a piston rod 27, such piston rod being centrally secured at itsupper end to the plunger extension 22. Flexible conduits 28 and 29 connected Vto the opposite ends of the hydraulic cylinder are connected to a pipe 30 leading to the source of the pressure uid carried on the truck. A suitable control valve 31 connected to the pipe 30 and positioned forwardly of the front side 6 of the truck body makes it possible selectively to control the upward and downward adjustment of the piston 26 and the plunger extension 22.

To facilitate the manual loading of the truck body, the plunger extension 22 is first adjusted downwardly, and the plunger is adjusted to its lowered position wherein its upper edge is in substantially horizontal alignment with the lower central portion 6a of the upper edge of the front wall 6 of the truck body, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby making it considerably easier for workmen to lift the heavy containers used in collecting such garbage over the upper edges of the front side 6 and the plunger extension when dumping the contents into the truck body. While the plunger 12 is still in the loading position adjacent the front side 6, the plunger extension 22 is adjusted upwardly to a position in which its upper edge is substantially in horizontal alignment with the upper edges of the lateral sides 7, 7 of the truck body, thereby increasing the telescoping wall surfaces and the effective pushing area of the plunger to the permissible maximum extent.

The operator by manipulating the control valve (not shown) so the pressure uid is directed into the forward end of the hydraulic cylinder 14cau'ses the plunger 12 to move rearwardly, thereby compacting the garbage and at the same time clearing the space in the front end of the truck body so additional garbage can be manually deposited therein.

i What I claim is: f

posed lateral side walls, a rear end and a frontend, a. 1

the side walls for longitudinal rearward and forward reciprocating movement, the plunger being arranged vertically with its side edges positioned adjacent the lateral side Walls of the truck body, hydraulic operating means mounted on the bed of the truck body and connected to the plunger, an upwardly and downwardly adjustable extension having a wall surface substantially the same width as the plunger, the extension being carried by the plunger and arranged to increase the height of the plunger when adjusted upwardly,.hydraulic operating means carried on the plunger and connected to the extension for adjusting the plunger extension upwardly and Vdownwardly.

2. In a refuse truck, a truck body having a bed, opposed lateral side Walls of substantially the same height, a rear end and a front end, the forward end having an upper edge substantially lower than the upper edges of the lateral side walls, a transverse refuse compressor plunger tting in the truck body and arranged for longitudinal rearward and forward reciprocating movement, the plunger when at the end of its forward reciprocating movement being positioned forwardly of but adjacent the front end wall of the truck body, the plunger having an upper edge Vpositioned approximately in horizontal alignment with the said upper edge of the front end of the truck body, an upwardly and downwardly adjustable extension having a wall surface substantially the width of the plunger, the extension being carried by the plunger, the extension when in its downwardly adjusted position having its upper edge in substantially horizontal alignment with the said upper edge of the front end of the truck body and the said extension when in its upwardly adjusted position having its upper edge in substantially horizontal alignment with the upper edges of the lateral side walls.

3. lIn a refuse truck, a truck body having an elongated refuse receiving compartment, a substantially vertical transverse refuse compressor plunger mounted for longitudinal rearward and forward reciprocating movement in the compartment, a shell-like extension telescopically titting over the upper end portion of the plunger and arranged for upward and downward adjustment, the extension having a wall surface substantially the width of the plunger, a hydraulic cylinder mounted vertically on the plunger, a reciprocating piston mounted in the cylinder and a piston rod connecting the extension and the piston.

4. In a refuse truck, a truck body having an elongated refuse receiving compartment, a substantially `vertical transverse refuse compressor plunger mounted for longitudinal rearward and forward reciprocating movement in the compartment, an upwardly and downwardly adjustable extension carried by the plunger and having a wall surface substantially the width of the plunger, and means carried by the plunger for adjusting the extension upwardly and downwardly.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,015,054 Wikert Sept. i7, 1935 2,250,649 Pierson July 29, 1941 2,793,769 Weber May 28, 1957 

